Ilocos Norte students’ AI poster-making activity sparks online criticism - Interaksyon
A school activity at a public high school in Ilocos Norte drew flak for encouraging students to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a poster-making contest.
The Supreme Secondary Learner Government (SSLG) of Pinili National High School on Monday, September 21, shared entries for the AI poster-making contest it launched as part of its Teachers’ Month Celebration 2026.
The contest had the theme, “Teacher, ikaw naman!”
“It’s time to celebrate the creativity and appreciation we have for our amazing teachers!” the student body’s post read.
“Take a look at the creative works of our participants as they showcase their appreciation, respect, and love for the teachers who continue to inspire and guide us every day,” it added.
The initiative drew criticism from some Filipinos, who questioned how students could develop their creativity with AI assisting them.
“AI slop, where’s the creativity?” a Facebook user commented.
“Taray naman ng ‘enhancing creativity,’ pare-parehas ang layout ng result ng prompt ah,” another wrote.
“Sobrang pangit. Walang kaluluwa,” a different Pinoy commented.
“Pero kidding aside, why not make it digital poster-making instead of AI Poster-Making. There are applications and websites that are better tools than AI. Anong creativity niyan? Pagalingan mag-prompt?” another Facebook user asked.
“Enhance Creativity??? The schools should know better. Is this how you encourage creativity to your students? Prompt creation?Hahahhaa,” another Pinoy commented.
“Focusing on learners to learn, create and adapt??? No. Walang create create diyan. Hahaha adaptation of AI generation lang. AI POSTER MAKING CONTEST??? WHAT A JOKE HAHAHA. It’s like playing with robots and making them clash each other HAHHA, manok yarn? Pagalingan ng prompt?” the Facebook user added.
The student body explained that the activity was “intended to enhance learners’ creativity, digital literacy, and responsible use of emerging technology.”
It added that the activity was not meant to replace students’ ideas, effort, or learning.
“The use of AI is simply a tool in the creative process. Learners are still expected to conceptualize, provide appropriate instructions [or] prompts, evaluate the output, and ensure that their final work reflects the theme and objectives of the activity,” the student body said.
“As an educational institution, we believe that learners should be guided not only in traditional forms of creativity but also in the responsible, ethical, and meaningful use of technology that is increasingly becoming part of their generation,” it added.
The student body said it stands by the “educational purpose” of the activity and is “open to constructive feedback and suggestions for its improvement.”
“Let us focus on helping our learners learn, create, and adapt responsibly in a changing digital world,” it added.
Earlier this month, concerns were raised over some food businesses using AI to design their menus. Some online users questioned the use of generic designs and unrealistic graphics.
AI can be used to generate text, images, audio and video based on user prompts.
Its used has also prompted discussions about creativity, including concerns that AI-generated outputs may result in less varied designs and raise questions about originality and depth.
